TV to Digital: Kartik Mahadev on how ZEE is Adapting to Changing Audience Habits

Q: What’s the scene like in television, considering OTT’s rise and potential replacement of theatres?

A: Television remains the largest reach medium, trusted by homes and families across India, with 210 million homes and 900 million viewers. TV consumption is growing, with 85% of homes tuning in weekly. While newer formats and screens emerge, TV continues to grow alongside them, offering many possibilities for storytellers and creators.

Q: What drives the enduring popularity of television in India?

A: Television’s enduring popularity stems from its ability to tell local, culturally rooted stories that resonate across generations and life stages. With 10 crore homes watching TV together at any minute, it unifies people, bringing them together through shared experiences and shaping beliefs and society.

Q: How does Zee Entertainment combine linear TV and digital strengths to stay ahead of the competition?

A: Zee’s approach is to provide content suited to various consumption occasions and platforms. We offer content on large screens, OTT platforms, and mobile devices, focusing on entertainment, enrichment, and informing audiences. Our content is repurposed into shorts, webisodes, and smaller capsules, with an emphasis on character-forward storytelling. We build relatable and aspirational characters, creating daily empathy and influence. We engage audiences through multiple touch points, including gamification, WhatsApp channels, and feedback mechanisms, tailoring content to suit each medium.

Q: What genres are performing well for Zee Entertainment?

A: Fiction remains the mainstay, accounting for 55% of TV GRPs. Movies are also successful, with significant theatrical and digital success. We are finding success in fiction content across regions, with a strong presence in 10 languages. Our international ventures, like Zee Zonke in Africa, showcase Indian storytelling’s cultural export potential. Non-fiction formats, such as Zee Tamil's Little Champs, are also gaining traction, demonstrating TV’s power to inspire change.

Q: How do you see Indian TV viewing habits changing in the next 5 to 10 years?

A: Indian TV viewing habits will undergo significant changes driven by innovations in storytelling and formats. Our content teams work closely with consumers to understand cultural nuances and emerging themes. With India changing rapidly, content provides everyday empathy, support, and solutions. We've innovated nearly two-thirds of our active shows, introducing shorter stories and pacier formats. We are also innovating marketing engagement between TV and digital formats, leveraging interactivity and hyper-personalized stories.

Q: What are Zee Entertainment’s big goals for 2025?

A: Our primary goal is to win audiences’ hearts and attention. We are scaling up our product-level innovation, Dilfluencers, which leverages characters from television as everyday influencers. These characters build empathy and engagement, offering partners and customers a unique opportunity to connect with their target audience. By combining brand ethos and character quirks, we can drive trust, action, and credibility for brands and categories. We are rolling out Dilfluencers across markets, following a successful campaign with Jackie Shroff. Additionally, we have exciting content in the pipeline, including digital series, movies, and innovative fiction drama.

Q: Tell us about Zee’s new campaign

A: Zee’s new campaign showcases its unparalleled reach across India’s diverse media landscape. With a presence on mobile, cinema, and TV screens, Zee offers a comprehensive content slate spanning various genres and formats.

The campaign’s core message, “Many screens, many regions, many languages – Bharat ke har kone mein,” highlights Zee’s pervasive presence across the country. By seamlessly delivering content across platforms, Zee caters to diverse audiences and viewing occasions, underscoring its commitment to engaging entertainment experiences.